degrassifandomcom-20200223-history
Talk:Miles-Maya Relationship/@comment-24712996-20140322204527
I am posting this again because I just want to be clear where I stand with Miles and his actions, especially the 'slut' thing. Only going to address this once even though people are likely to bring it up again - Since I've been on here (for like a day) I haven't addressed Miles calling Maya a 'slut' so I felt I should since I'm a proud feminist who doesn't put up with that shit. Miles shouldn't have said that Maya. No-one should call anyone a 'slut' and cast judgement on their personal life no matter how many sexual partners they have or what they wear. However, let's take a moment to look at what caused him to react that way because his character is far more complex than saying he said that to be the dominant one so it came out naturally. He's a 15 year old boy who spent most of the summer crushing on a girl with whom he wasn't sure he would have a chance since he himself even observed he felt she wasn't ready for a relationship because of her hesitancy of the chance of getting hurt again after Cam. His reaction to the music video was full of hurt and confusion and being unable to figure out how to manage his feelings. He's constantly put under intense scrutiny by his father whereby nothing he does is deemed good enough so obviously he's going to have self-esteem issues and seeing the girl he likes, whom had strongly hinted earlier that she felt the same way, with another guy in that position is going to make him feel insecure further. He was probably riddled with hurt which was coupled with confusion as well as this sense of not feeling like he'' enough''. He didn't understand why Maya, whom he regarded as fine as she was, would take that step in changing herself in a way which he took as exploitative. In that moment I don't think he comphrended the weight his words could have or the implications which they suggested and a reason for that might have been the fact others were calling her a 'slut' as well so the normalisation and acceptance of it didn't make him realise the severity of the word. Miles very much reacts through his emotions and as we've seen with his family that he acts out in order hide the fact he's hurt by neglect, mocking and the feeling of always having to live by expectations. This isn't an excuse for his behaviour but the fact is that Miles went away, after seeing just how much careless words like that can affect someone, and thought about why he was wrong. Not many people are willinging to admit their faults yet he acknowledged that he was wrong in judging Maya harshly and apologized. Again, he's meant to be a 15 year old boy. Most would run away with their emotions and try to keep convincing themselves they're in the right, but Miles even went as far to point out double standards which exist by comparing his sexual escapades with that of Maya's. He understood just why he was wrong, in the process learning a valuable lesson, and came up with a way for Maya's cyberbulling to be stopped by helping her find out who was behind it. How many of the other guys on this show have put their hands up and acknowledged that they were wrong with their slut-shaming? People grow. People learn. People understand through mistakes. I would just like to share something I wrote earlier about the Zig thing: Miles really let's him emotions rule over his mind in the moment but that just reveals the raw intensity of them and any hurt he's feeling. Should he be more understanding towards Maya (as a friend) caring about Zig's home situation? Yes. However, again let's not forget that all he knows about Zig hasn't been very positive YET he still enquired about Zig after him and Maya had roses for each other because he knows it matters to her so to an extent it matters to him. So far all he knows is that his girlfriend doesn't have the best or healithest relationship with the dude so he's bound to be protective of her. The fact that Zig was insulting Miles despite having no real interaction or knowledge of him just because Maya liked him is worrying considering how his words played a part in the terrible tragedy of someone else. He doesn't know Miles. He doesn't know about his home life (even when he was meant to be going through trouble himself and let's not forget Cam) yet mocked him, not learning from last time that everyone deals with personal things and don't need added drama. Also when Maya was being slut-shamed by her peers where was Zig? She was there for him as a'' friend'' when he needed her but he didn't provide her with comfort or reassurance. She didn't promise him anything. He's not entitled to her (ugh) or her affections just because they once shared an attraction which has now ended on her part. So fair enough if you don't like Miles or Matlingsworth. Like I've said before everyone can ship whomever they like. Miles, though, is a complex character and deserves to be analysed and appreciated but if you hate on him just because he's with Maya then you're doing a disservice to his character.